Blog

Mexican bean beetles Adult Mexican bean beetles are oval yellowish-brown to copper-colored beetles with 16 black spots on their wing covers. They are ¼-inch long and look something like a lady bug. Bean beetle larvae are fat yellowish or orange humpbacked grubs with long branching spines 5/16-inch long. Mexican bean beetle larvae and adults feed

Spotted asparagus beetle The common asparagus beetle adult is a shiny, elongated blue-black beetle with a reddish-brown thorax and four cream-colored spots surrounded by a red border on the wing covers. The adult asparagus beetle is ¼-inch long. The larva is a greenish-gray, wrinkled, humpbacked grub with a dark head about ⅓-inch long. Common asparagus

Leafhopper Leafhoppers are wedge-shaped, slender, greenish, yellow, or brown translucent winged insects 1/10 to ½ inch long. Nymph leafhoppers are pale green wingless insects but otherwise look like adult leafoppers. Leafhoppers have piercing mouthparts and suck the sap from many leafy crops such as lettuce and endive but they also attack potatoes and tomatoes. Leafhoppers

Sowbug Sowbugs are hard shelled land-dwelling crustaceans. They are not insects. Adult sowbugs are slate gray or brown ¼ to 5/8 inch long with jointed armor segments and seven pairs of tiny legs. A sowbug resembles an tiny armadillo. Sowbugs eat decaying plant and other organic material in the garden including decaying vegetables and fruits.

Foam surrounding a spittlebug Spittlebugs are the nymphs of insects called froghoppers. Adult froghoppers are small oval- to triangular-shaped insects ¼ to ½ inch in length. The adults can be green, tan, brown, or black. They can jump as much as 100 times their height, giving them the name froghoppers. They can also fly. Many

Squash vine borer The squash vine borer is a wrinkled, cream-colored caterpillar with a brown head, about 1 to 2 inches long. The adult-form of the vine borer is a narrow-winged olive-brown moth with a 1- to 1½-inch wide wingspan. The moth has fringed hind legs, a red abdomen with black rings, and translucent wings.

Tarnished plant bug Adult tarnished plant bugs are oval and small, just ¼ inch big. They are brown mottled with yellow, bronze, or reddish marks and each forewing is black-tipped with a yellow triangle. Tarnished plant bug nymphs are yellow-green and wingless, somewhat similar to adults in appearance. Tarnished plant bug eggs are yellow and

Parsleyworm The parsleyworm is a very large, two-inch long, green caterpillar with yellow-dotted black bands across each body segment. It has a pair of orange horns that it can project to scare off enemies. The beautiful black-and-yellow swallowtail butterfly is the adult form of the parsleyworm. The parsleyworm eats the leaves and stems of carrot-family

Root weevil Weevils are oval, brownish-gray or black, flightless, hard-shelled beetles about ⅓-inch long with a pronounced snout. Weevil larvae are plump, white grubs up to ½-inch long with yellowish brown heads. Adult weevils chew on leaf edges leaving small scalloped bite marks. Larvae are soil-dwelling and feed on plant roots. Weevil chewed leaves do

Cutworms Cutworms are the larvae of several species of night-flying moths. The moths are brownish or gray with 1½-inch wingspans. The larvae are plump, gray or brown, hairless caterpillars often with shiny heads. Cutworms feed at night on young plants, usually severing the stem at or just below the soil line causing the plant to